


the foxhound

by EuphoricSingularity



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AU, College Student Kiyoomi, Cooking, Domestic Fluff, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Quarantine, Roommates, Roommates to lovers, kitsune atsumu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:15:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27663907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EuphoricSingularity/pseuds/EuphoricSingularity
Summary: Kiyoomi snaps out of his shock to see a buck-naked man standing right in the middle of his kitchen. And as any normal human would have done, Kiyoomi screams bloody murder at the man with the dehydrated piss-blond hair.“WAIT—”“Who the FUCK are you and why are you in my house?” Kiyoomi scrambles for the nearest weapon — a spoon.Kiyoomi is a tired Master's student trying to catch a break for once. But with a newly given puppy and a plane ticket to Japan. A kitsune is going to turn his whole world upside down and maybe make it better.
Relationships: Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Comments: 24
Kudos: 149





	1. maron-kun

Kiyoomi never really liked dogs or well, pets to be frankly honest with you. Most days he thought that they were quite tedious to take care of. It was hard enough taking care of himself and accounting for his own well-being, let alone a tiny animal. That being said, his sleeping schedule was far from the norm and most days he felt like an owl. And some days he would just sleep intermittently throughout the day just to offset the constant fatigue of university.

It wasn’t until his cousin Komori recommended getting a dog to provide a furry little companion and to keep his schedule in check. Kiyoomi thought it was a preposterous idea at first. However, his _loving_ parents thought it was a _wonderful_ idea and on his twenty-fourth birthday, they surprised him with a recently abandoned puppy from the local shelter. 

“Sakusa, meet Maron-chan.” His mother thrusts the squirming puppy into his arms. Maron was a tiny chestnut brown Beagle with a bundle of never-ending energy. 

“What in the ever loving _fu_ —”

“Now don’t say that, Kiyoomi. He’s going to be your best friend.” Komori warmly smiles and pats his head. “Aren'tcha you smol pupper?”

Needless to say, Kiyoomi was shell-shocked. To put it this way, saying that the first couple of days was a huge learning curve for him, is an understatement. Figuring out the proper diet, the vaccine schedule, and deworming was easy enough to figure out with enough research and bombarding the local veterinary clinic with panicked calls. 

But taking care of Maron’s attention needs was difficult and rewarding at the same time. Kiyoomi loved the attention from his little Beagle, but he also hated how he could never get his research for his Master’s done without getting interrupted.

However, the teething phase and the constant peeing on everything _but_ the pee pad was the most painful part of it, and Kiyoomi’s nerves were set on fire every time he came home and saw a disaster of what used to be his living room. The stench of dried pee on his couch and the torn-up pee pad were common occurrences for him to come home to after long days on campus. But the clumsy puppy was too cute to ignore. And most days, Kiyoomi collapsed out of exhaustion on the couch with Maron on his lap. 

He enjoyed petting Maron’s sleek short coat, which was less of a hassle to vacuum and to brush compared to Komori’s Komondor. Which, in Kiyoomi’s opinion, reminded him of the mop in public school bathrooms. Kiyoomi felt that Maron was well-suited to his lifestyle and began to enjoy his company more and more over time.

“Your ears are so soft.” Maron nuzzles into Kiyoomi’s neck. “And so warm too.”

Dogs thrive on regular schedules and Maron was no exception to that. As the weeks passed by, Kiyoomi felt slightly better and healthier. Getting up earlier and eating regular meals was becoming easier for him and he settled into a constant routine. He even looks forward to their daily two hours of jogging and it kept him (and Maron) in tip-top condition. He didn’t even mind if he got dragged whenever Maron saw a squirrel or a rabbit or if Maron decided to wake up the whole neighbourhood with his howling. He felt even more motivated to finish his Master’s degree and get the hell out of his university. Kiyoomi’s overall quality of life had increased exponentially ever since his little Beagle came into his life. 

* * *

A year and a half passed by without much difficulty and the little Beagle was definitely not what he originally seemed to be. 

“Huh.” Komori says, staring at the not-so-quite tiny puppy. Who was enticing Komori’s Komondor, Kimi to an intense game of chase.

“Maron started growing quite fast compared to the average Beagle after around six months,” Sakusa starts, “And then he just started exceeding the maximum height and weight of the average Beagle.”

“How tall is he now?”

“About 63.5 cm at the shoulders and 33.5 kg.” Kiyoomi states. “The biggest Beagles are normally around 40 cm and 11 kg.”

“Oh sweet Jesus. He’s already taller than Kimi.” Komori gapes. “So do you think he’s a Beagle mix? Or something else?”

“I started looking around for other types of hounds and he’s probably an American Foxhound, based off of his phenotype.” 

“Pheno— what? Kiyoomi I stopped taking science after high school.”

“His observable characteristics.” Sakusa glances at his phone. “I ordered a dog DNA kit to test if he is one, but I’m still waiting for them to email the results back.”

“Well, for now you can just call him an overgrown Beagle until we figure it out.”

* * *

Life continued on with the not-quite Beagle and the Master’s student until the faithful day the email had arrived. Komori and Kimi had come over to Kiyoomi’s apartment to see the results. Maron was ecstatic to finally play with his favourite cousin since Kiyoomi and Komori’s schedules often conflicted with each other. Whilst the two excited dogs pranced around the living room, Kiyoomi and Komori were huddled around the kitchen island to open the email.

“I fucking knew it!” Komori yells. “I knew that he was a Foxhound!”

“What are you talking about?” Sakusa grumbles. “I’m the one who figured it out.”

“Well, at least you can stop saying he’s an overgrown Beagle.” Komori jabbs.

“Shut it.”

* * *

As August fades into September, autumn quickly creeps up on him and Kiyoomi decides to take a break from school. Luckily, his affluent background gives him the privilege of not having to worry about money for most — well his whole life. As October arrives, the Sakusas gather for a Thanksgiving dinner. Kiyoomi’s family rarely ever meets each other apart for holidays, weddings, and funerals. Otherwise, they are the definition of a perfectly (dis)functional immigrant family. His mother and father immigrated to Canada back in the 90s to complete their Ph.D. at the university and dedicated their life to academia and rarely pay any attention to their children. As a result, Kiyoomi and his siblings were mostly raised by their nanny. And family gatherings are suffocating, to say the least.

“How is your Master’s thesis coming along Kiyoomi?” His father inquires.

“It’s going well, I have been researching and recording data on insulin tourism in the US.” Kiyoomi states.

“Ah yes, I remember when I was in the States investigating fenceline communities when I was a grad student. That was also when I had met your mother.” His father reminisces. “However, don’t tarnish our reputation and our legacy, I expect you to thrive in academia as we did.”

“Of course, father.” Kiyoomi grits through his teeth. 

It left a bitter taste in his mouth. He had never dared to say anything to them, but he had never wanted to go into academia in the first place. His mother and father were well-known and highly praised in their respective fields of women’s health and population health. Whereas Kiyoomi’s older brother and sister had also followed their parent's path and currently work in microbiology labs at their university.

Ever since he was a child, Kiyoomi felt enormous pressure to maintain the family legacy and contribute to the field of research and to reach his parent’s never-ending expectations for him. Whilst research was only mildly interesting to him, it was not what Sakusa initially planned for his life. To be perfectly honest, he still doesn’t even know what to do with his life. But for now, he can’t escape from his parent’s grasp and he can’t afford to disappoint them yet.

“Have you caught the eye of anyone yet?” His mother pries.

“Unfortunately no.”

“Hm, shall I arrange an omiai for you? You are bound to meet at least one person you could take interest in.” 

Sakusa recoils, wide-eyed. “I’m not interested in any arranged marriage meetings, mother.”

And a pregnant pause fell upon the family once more. He could hear his brother and sister quietly cough into their napkins, holding back snorts of laughter. Luckily for them, they were not constantly subjected to constant blind dates arranged by their mother and her social circle.

“Kiyoomi, you decided to take the winter semester off right?”

“Yes, mother.”

“Good,” she says. “If you don’t have any plans. . . Could you go to our family home in Hyogo?”

“Why?”

“Since Obaa-san died a year ago, no one has been taking care of the family home.” His father states. “Thus, we’re planning on selling the house.”

“Some of our family heirlooms still reside in that house and it would be best to ship everything here.”

“You can also take a vacation and do touristy things in Japan if you wanted to. But it shouldn’t take you any more than a week to finish up.” His sister adds.

“But I can’t leave Maron here by himself. H-he has separation anxiety.” Sakusa tries to come up with an excuse but to no avail.

“Then just apply for him to come with you.” His father shrugs. “I’m sure we can pull a few strings here and there.”

* * *

“Why is this so hard? I’m supposed to be taking a break.” He groans and leans back on his office chair.

Kiyoomi wanted to throw all of the papers off the balcony. _Every single one of them_. He was swimming in an endless pool of documents trying to get Maron legally across international borders and it had proved to be much more difficult and time-consuming than Kiyoomi had initially thought. But after a month of going back and forth to Maron’s veterinarian and acquiring all of the legal documents. Kiyoomi was finally able to book a flight to Osaka for Maron and himself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, don't ever gift a pet to literally anyone without letting them know in the first place. Even though it happened to me and my doggo (I love her so much), I still don't endorse it. Also, the rest of this fic is mostly finished, but I too am a poor university student and I have finals coming my way and the rest of this will be finished and uploaded in full in late December/early January. 
> 
> Shoutout to my irls EL and AA for watching me type the horny chapters on my Google Docs at 4AM.
> 
> Follow me on Twitter if ya want! @kyuuwah


	2. dust bunnies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyoomi finally lands in Hyogo, but Maron-kun decided to make a new foxy friend.  
> (Please note the mentions of blood and injuries in this chapter)

“Maron-kun, are you ready to go to Hyogo?” Kiyoomi squats down and ruffles his fur. “It’s your first major trip and it’s even overseas.”

Maron barks excitedly and spun in circles before proceeding to zoom around his apartment with Kimi. Kiyoomi and Komori sighs before packing the last of his face masks and essentials into his carry-on.

“I don’t see the need of you packing literally a hundred masks for the flight.” Komori reaches into his weekender. “And black nitrile gloves too? You know they do have these in Japan right?”

Sakusa snatches his gloves back, stuffs them into his bag, and zipps it shut. “I know they do, but I’d rather bring my own. All I’m worried about is Maron-kun during the flight.”

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t freak out.” Komori says. “I even couldn’t imagine taking Kimi on a plane, she’s far too….” 

“Anxiety ridden?”

“Not quite.”

“Clingy.”

“Mhmmm.” Komori hums. 

They finally stuff Kiyoomi’s two suitcases in the back of Komori’s sedan and open the back doors for the dogs to hop into. But due to them zipping around his apartment, they were both extremely pooped out and had to be carried to their seats. They put on their seatbelts (always wear a seatbelt), pressed play on a city pop playlist and started their long journey on the highway to the Toronto Pearson International Airport. 

Kiyoomi highly valued punctuality, and obsessively hated being late to anything. He would rather show up far too early than late, even if it was inexplicably earlier. Which explains why he chose to arrive at the airport _twelve hours_ before boarding.

Just before Komori pulls into the parking lot at the airport, he gives Kiyoomi a small folded piece of paper. “Oh by the way, I contacted a friend of mine to pick you up from the airport. Here’s his number.”

“Suna Rintaro. Huh… I think I’ve heard of him before.” Kiyoomi tries to wrack his brain for any information on the man, but none came to mind.

“I met him by chance at a bar in Tokyo when I was on vacation. He’s currently a middle blocker for the EJP Raijin in D1.”

“Ah I see.” Kiyoomi had hardly kept up with volleyball news and most of the things he read nowadays were journal articles and bills.

“You know, you really could have played volleyball professionally after high school. After Nationals, you were always scouted by a bunch of teams from the  
Canadian V-League, and even some from the Japan V-League.”

Kiyoomi put on his face mask and twiddles his fingers. “I know that, but you know who my parents are. They wouldn’t even dare to think about their children pursuing a different career path than them, let alone playing volleyball professionally. They absolutely hated the idea of me joining the varsity volleyball team at the university.”

“I know that,” Komori pauses. “But, everyone was super jealous of your freaky wrists at Nationals. I wish _I_ had bendy wrists so I could put a nasty spin on the ball whenever I spiked.”

“Komori, your vertical leap is absolutely _shit_.” Kiyoomi snickers. “You can barely get your hand over the net.”

Komori punches him in the arm. “You’re so mean Kiyoomi, I’m so fucking glad I won’t have to see you for weeks.”

“Thanks for the compliment.” Kiyoomi snarks back and checks the watch on his wrist. “Anyways, I think I should go now and get to the gate early.”

“Twelve hours early?”

“Shut up asshole.” Kiyoomi steps out of the car and leashes Maron. “Thanks for the ride to the airport, Komori. I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

“No problem, have a safe flight.”

YYZ — KIX

Once Kiyoomi finally lands in Kansai International Airport, the first order of business was to apply for an import inspection from Animal Quarantine Service and spend twelve agonizing hours waiting for Maron to be released. 

In the meantime, he grabs his suitcases from the luggage carousel, changes some of his money, and buys a prepaid SIM card. He fiddles with the tiny wire and failed to press it into the tiny hole at the side of his phone. It took him a couple of tries before he was able to eject his old SIM card and enter his new one. He quickly messages Suna that he was at the airport and asks to pick him up in a couple of hours. 

By this point, Sakusa was ready to pass out. Travelling was exhausting and he absolutely loathed flying to conferences when he was presenting his research. But he had only ever travelled to the USA or the UK, which was not as big of a time difference compared to Japan, which was fourteen hours ahead. Kiyoomi was slowly starting to feel the effects of jetlag wash over him and promptly passed out on the seats at his gate.

* * *

Kiyoomi felt super groggy when he woke up from his ill-timed nap and noticed that he received a message from Animal Quarantine Service that Maron had passed all of their tests and was ready to pick up. He quickly sends a text to Suna that states that Maron was released from AQS.

Then like a madman, Kiyoomi scrambles to pick up his suitcases and sprints all the way to the AQS office. He sees Maron in his poor carrier and immediately let him out in the open, where he was tackled to the ground with kisses. In the middle of the airport. Not many people in Japan have seen an American Foxhound before and Kiyoomi could feel the stares burning a giant hole in the back of his head. Then he felt his phone buzz in his pocket and checks his notifications.

Suna Rintarou: Sakusa-san im at terminal 1.

Sakusa Kiyoomi: I’m on my way. Do you want to meet up near the coffee shop?

Suna Rintarou: yea thats cool see yaaaaa soon

Kiyoomi speed-walks through the hallways with Maron prancing by his side, finally free from the constraints of his carrier. At this point, Kiyoomi is an exhausted man who — at this point — gave zero shits about his haggard appearance and couldn’t care less if he looked like he was one step away from death. He eventually reaches the coffee shop and scans the area for a man who could possibly be Suna. Eventually his eyes land onto a relatively tall man with dark brown hair that is parted in the middle, like a soft cover book that was opened halfway. 

“Ah, ya must be Sakusa-san.” Suna sticks out his hand. “Nice ta meetcha.”

Sakusa twitches a little. “I don’t really do handshakes.”

“No worries, can I pet your dog instead?” Maron was practically vibrating from excitement and wanted to leap into Suna’s arms.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Oh hello there! Aren’t you a good boy?” Suna crouches down and Maron rolls over to beg him to rub his tummy.

Even though he wasn’t looking, Kiyoomi could hear the people around them stop and take out their phones and snap photos of the dog wiggling on the ground.

“Alright, I bet yer tired.” Suna stands back up and walks towards his luggage. “We should probably head towards yer house so ya can hit the hay. Do yeh want me to carry some of yer stuff?”

“No, I’m fine by myself.”

“Aight aight, I’ll just lead the way then.”

Suna leads Kiyoomi and Maron to the parking lot and to his pickup truck where he mounts his luggage and Maron’s carrier into the back. Meanwhile, Kiyoomi opens the door for Maron to hop into the backseat and he sat shotgun. Kiyoomi was far too tired to care whether or not if the pickup truck was clean enough to his standards and started to doze off, head jerking to the side when he realized he was falling asleep.

“Don’t worry, you can take a nap. I’ll wake ya up when we get there."

* * *

“Oi, pretty boy. We’re at yer house.”

Kiyoomi blinks through bleary eyes and tries to wake himself from his nap. On the left, they were approaching the Sakusa family home. The traditionally-styled house was almost exactly the same as his childhood. Tall stone retaining walls span the perimeter of the property overlooking acres of abandoned farmland. Right beside the house was a giant forest that continued for what seemed like miles. There were very little neighbours in this part of the countryside and it was mostly just rice paddies and other small farmers.

At a closer glance, Kiyoomi could tell that the retaining walls had worn down over time and small cracks appeared in some of the stones. The wooden storm shutters that lined the house were scratched, but it still protected the shoji from the harsh winter wind. 

Suna came to a stop in front of the gate and hops out of the car. He goes to the back of the pickup truck and starts to take down the suitcases as Kiyoomi searches for the keys in his weekender. Maron had already woken up from his nap and was barking from excitement and paws at Kiyoomi to open the door. Kiyoomi went to exit the car, but Maron beat him to it by jumping over the glove compartment and scrambling onto the road. He proceeded to zoom around the truck, waiting for the gate to be opened. 

Meanwhile, Kiyoomi helps Suna drag his suitcases to the front door and he starts to take a good look at what he had to work with. The house—to put it kindly—was a _fucking hot mess_. Kiyoomi always prided himself for being notoriously clean and tidy and loved the scent of window cleaner as much as a rich person loved Gucci perfume. However the house looked like the first snowfall, but instead of snow, it was covered in a centimetre thick layer of dust. It was horrifying, to say the least.

“I would invite you in for some tea, but the state of the house is...”

Suna approaches him from behind and laid down the rest of his stuff at the entrance. 

“No worries man.” Suna chuckles as he swiped his finger on the surface of the low table and had cut through a layer of dust. “You’ve got yer work cut out fer ya huh? I saw a car covered near the entrance, do ya want me ta jumpstart it before I leave so you can get around town?”

“I would appreciate that, let me go and find the keys.” He digs through the closet beside the entrance and hands him the keys.

“I’ll be back in a bit.”

Kiyoomi immediately starts to search for a vacuum. He was _not_ going to sleep on the dusty tatami. No matter how tired he was. The vacuum cleaner that was in the house was extremely heavy and was unlike the light-weight cordless vacuum cleaners he had grown up with. But still, he carefully rolled the vacuum cleaner to the living room and proceeded to meticulously remove every dust particle that the human eye could see. 

“Sakusa-san,” Suna says “I was able ta fix yer car and this is for ya.”

He hands him a small bag of groceries. “I know it’s not much, but I guess ya would be too busy to go grocery shopping while ya get settled in.”

“I—” Kiyoomi was startled by the kind gesture. “Thank you for all your help Suna-san. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. I’ll see ya around town aight?” 

As soon as Kiyoomi was left to his own devices, he immediately forgone his sweaty clothing and quickly unpacked his blanket from his suitcase and promptly passed out on the (somewhat) clean tatami. Maron had dug under the covers and snuggled beside him. The warmth between them slowly drew the two tired travellers into a deep and restful sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Kiyoomi did a deep clean of the house, from the inside out. Starting with the kitchen, the bathrooms, then the bedrooms. While Maron just played outside in the snow and tried to chase some hares. Kiyoomi felt more comfortable in the house as the dust went away and was enjoying the process of cleaning the house inside out.

Maron’s sleep schedule was nothing short of absolutely batshit crazy when they first got settled in Hyogo. He constantly woke up at the most peculiar hours to either do his business or harass some poor wildlife with his baying. Within a few days, Maron decided that his temporary schedule was to shove Kiyoomi off the futon at 5:00 AM for his daily morning walk and then sleep again until it was “normal” breakfast time at 10:00 AM.

Normally, Kiyoomi would have taken this small change in stride. But with the added stress of research (for his thesis) and figuring out what the hell he was going to do with three generations of Sakusa glass urns, he was under a level of stress he hadn’t felt since his final exams last semester.

One day, on Maron’s daily 5:00 am walk, Kiyoomi was still groggy and barely awake when he walked on the road with Maron. Who was prancing in the snow, jumping in it, digging down to the ground for any fallen sticks. But suddenly, the foxhound immediately freezes, lowers his tail, slowly raises his paw and points his head towards the forest. Kiyoomi looked down and the coarse black hairs on Maron’s neck stood tall and he could sense from his body language that something ominous in the forest set him off. Not wanting to make a scene, he gently tugs on the leash to try and distract Maron.

“It’s probably just a rabbit. Come one Maron-kun let’s just go —” Kiyoomi's eyes were still trying to focus, but he could see a small bright red figure at the edge of the forest. He rubbed his eyes and squints to find a small fox lurking behind some trees and eyeing them.

His dog slowly approaches the fox, one paw at a time. Each step Maron takes equates to the fox taking a step back. Then, the frightened fox immediately darts back into the thick of the forest. Kiyoomi just stops his dog from chasing any further and they continue their walk. 

The next day, the fox is still there. At the edge of the forest, just waiting. This time, it lets Maron come closer to him, but the fox never takes one step forward. They stare at each other for ages, but the fox scrambles back into the thick of the forest.

And just like that, the red fox becomes a part of their daily routine. As soon as Kiyoomi steps out of the gates, he spots the fox patiently waiting for them to pass by the forest on their morning walk. Maron always approaches the fox, but the fox always scurries back to the forest before he could get too close.

One day, the fox eventually lets Maron sniff him. Maron stops in his tracks and looks down at the snow beneath him and lowers his tail. The fox slowly approaches the foxhound, recognizing that Maron-kun is not a threat and faces the foxhound. Strangely enough, Maron-kun never went for the kill. American Foxhounds were bred to hunt foxes, and Maron-kun was definitely no exception to that. He has countlessly killed rabbits back home when Kiyoomi took him for walks in the forests much to Kiyoomi’s displeasure.

However this time, Maron slowly lifts his head and stares directly into the fox’s eyes and takes a couple of sniffs before the fox takes a few steps back from Maron and then darts away. 

The next day, when Kiyoomi had woken up, he was shivering and his teeth were chattering from how cold it was. Maron was not sleeping by his side as he usually does and he had slid the shoji screen open. Kiyoomi immediately ran to the engawa in his robe to find the fox and Maron in the backyard, chasing each other. They were jumping over mountains of shovelled snow and sticking their heads inside of it. They played for hours before the fox had decided to return back to the forest.

It eventually became a sort of routine for the three of them. Kiyoomi would wake up to hear Maron and the fox playing in the yard, whilst he prepared their breakfast. Some days, Kiyoomi would offer some of the extras to the fox, but it always darted away before he could get close to it.

One day, Kiyoomi woke to the sounds of Maron whimpering and pawing at him. He felt a small weight resting at the foot of his futon and when he looked down, it was the red fox was bleeding out onto his covers.

“AAAAGGHHHH WHAT THE FUCK?” Kiyoomi scrambles back to the corner of the room and felt the blood rush to his head. Maron quickly runs to his owner’s side and starts to lick his face, but Kiyoomi could detect a metallic scent from his mouth and it took a great deal of self-control to not vomit on the tatami.

He slowly approaches the fox, careful not to move its body too much and begins to assess its injuries. The fox had a large gash that spanned from its left shoulder to its right hip and a bite mark on its back. Honestly, Kiyoomi didn’t even think he could save the fox. He was trained in First Aid, but unfortunately, those classes don’t really teach you how to save a fox bleeding out on a futon. Kiyoomi scrambled to find his First Aid kit and just went to town wrapping the fox’s body in rolls of gauze until it looked more like a mummy than a fox. 

Fortunately, Maron had stopped freaking out and started to sniff the fox and lick his forehead. Once Kiyoomi had started to calm down, he noticed that the fox had a large patch of bright blonde fur on his forehead. Which was peculiar, to say the least. He never recalled seeing any foxes with fur like this and it was quite a cute attribute. It was easily identifiable from other foxes, granted that they didn’t have the same markings.

Kiyoomi tries to feel for a pulse, but it was difficult to do. But it was there, soft and faint. He gently picks up the fox and carries it to the living room and places it on top of a towel in front of the heater, hoping that the ice-cold fox would warm up and wake up soon. He sets Maron’s bowl of water and a bowl of pate nearby, just in case it was hungry.

Throughout the day, Kiyoomi kept on checking in on the fox, hoping that it would stay alive. Even Maron constantly hovered over the fox and sometimes snuggled beside it to comfort it. 

Kiyoomi laid in bed that night restless. He wondered if he had inadvertently worsened the fox’s condition with his meddling. But he knew that these thoughts were irrational and he did everything he could to save it. But he wouldn’t know until the next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok well I lied about posting the rest of the fic in like late december LOL  
> I skipped most of my lectures and decided to post this instead  
> ahahah im a very bad example please dont do this.  
> i promise the story is gonna get more interesting from here on out.  
> also i still stand by my promise of finishing this fic by early january (bc thats when my break ends) but updates will likely be irregular until like december 21
> 
> follow me on twitter if ya want! @kyuuwah


	3. nodoguro and tamagoyaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyoomi and Atsumu eat breakfast and get to know eachother.

Kiyoomi wakes up earlier than he normally does and scrambles to get to the kitchen to check on his furry little guest. But when he glances at the heater, the towel was crumpled and the fox was gone. Even the water bowl and the pate set out for him was untouched. Kiyoomi starts to feel his chest tighten and he could hardly breathe. He could feel the anxiety rising up, stirring his insides and he just stands there, staring at the towel.

Kiyoomi snaps out of his shock to see a buck-naked man standing right in the middle of his kitchen. And as any normal human would have done, Kiyoomi screams bloody murder at the man with the dehydrated piss-blond hair.

“WAIT—”

“Who the fuck are you and why are you in my house?” Kiyoomi scrambles for the nearest weapon — a spoon. Kiyoomi felt the blood rush to his brain and his adrenaline kicked into overdrive, ready to kill a man with a flimsy plastic spoon. 

_Is this how I’m going to go down? Mauled to death by a naked man while clutching a spoon?_

Maron, who had finally decided to join the party, was sprinting through the hallways and ready to lunge at the intruder. When he arrived near the door, his posture was tense, sharp teeth that bared its canines and a low growl, threatening to kill. 

But when Maron finally calms down and sniffs the air, his whole demeanour changes. When Maron sees the blond man, he immediately relaxes his body and runs up to him, as if greeting an old friend. His tail was like a window wiper, constantly swaying left and right, desperately begging for pets. The strange man slowly bends down and gently pats the excited dog, wincing due to the strain on his body.

Kiyoomi was shaking. The spoon in his hands was not doing much to assure his safety. He could hardly control his hands and his heartbeat as it wildly thumped against his chest. 

“Maron-kun,” Kiyoomi steadies his voice. “Get away from him.”

“But he really seems ta like me!” The man whines.

“DON’T TOUCH HIM!” Kiyoomi threateningly points his spoon at him.

“Jeez, if ya could jus’ lemme explain to ya instead of hollerin’ like a lil schoolgirl, ya wouldn't hafta try ta kill me with yer sad spoon.” The strange man grumbles as he stands up straight.

Kiyoomi ignores the annoying remark. “Who… are you?” Sakusa lowers the plastic spoon, but still apprehensively points it in his direction.

“I’m the little fox ya rescued last night, thanks ta this good lil boy for findin’ me.” Atsumu smiles as he runs his fingers through Maron’s coarse brown coat. The latter being overexcited at his friend not ending up as roadkill.

“What are you exactly? How are you able to—”

“A kitsune, I’m sure you know enough about folklore.” He explains. “And my name’s Miya Atsumu by the way, so ya don’t have to keep callin’ me ‘you’ ya know.”

Kiyoomi spews angry vitriol. “Why is your hair colour so nasty? What kind of kitsune has dehydrated piss-blond hair anyways.” 

“Y’know people usually respond with their names instead of an insult when they meet someone for the first time.”

“It's Sakusa Kiyoomi.”

“Omi-kun then!” Atsumu clasps his hands, smiling. 

God. Kiyoomi just wanted to wipe the smirk off of his face.

“Don’t call me that.”

“How about… Hmmmm…” Atsumu claps his hands and shouts out, pointing finger guns at him. “Omi-Omi!”

“God that’s even worse.” Kiyoomi put his face in his hands.

Atsumu looks down at his mangled chest. “Anyways, do ya have any more of those bandages lying around. I gotta change them.”

“What happened to you anyway? How come you got injured in the first place?” Kiyoomi bends down and opens the kitchen cabinet to grab the First Aid kit. He motions for Atsumu to sit down.

“Got into a fight.” Kiyoomi puts on a pair of gloves and digs around for bandages and topical antibiotics. As he spreads on the ointment over his chest, Atsumu hisses at his touch and the sting of the antibiotics.

“With what?” He pressed, curiosity poking at him.

“Hmmmmm would ya believe me if I said it was monsters?” Atsumu grinned.

“No.” Sakusa deadpanned. “Just say what happened.”

“It was just traps layin’ around in the forest and I got caught in one of ‘em.”

“I wasn’t aware that the hunting season continued in January.”

“It doesn’t, someone just forgot ta remove some of their traps.”

“I see.” Kiyoomi finished applying the rest of the bandages. He looks up and down Atsumu’s body and his cheeks slightly begin to feel warm. “I’ll come back with some of my clothes so you won’t have to run around naked all the time.”

Atsumu realizes his state of nudeness and feels the area from his chest to his ear begin to redden. He quickly grabs the towel he laid on last night and tries to cover himself, but it was barely enough to wrap around his hips. 

He could feel his head throbbing and he clutches his head in his hands. Atsumu thought that he was totally out of his depth. Who the hell asks a stranger to do all of this for him? His house wasn’t even that far away from here. He could probably just go home and forget about the past week. But — 

“You can stay here for a while. Until your wound gets better.” Kiyoomi passes him some of his clothes. “But you’ll have to work to earn your keep.”

“Thanks Omi-Omi.” Atsumu grinned like a Cheshire cat, clutching the clothes to his chest.

“If you call me that one more time I’ll kick you out onto the streets.” Kiyoomi crosses his arms and turns around to give him a modicum of privacy. 

“Awww but Omi…” Atsumu whined. He slowly puts on the crewneck, careful not to put any further strain on his injuries and shimmies into the sweatpants and socks.

“Do you want to become roadkill or not?” Kiyoomi said. “For now let’s just eat breakfast.”

Atsumu opened the fridge door and his eyes glanced over the array of food. He pondered over some of the typical breakfast items and glanced at the fish in the corner. “We could make some tamagoyaki, grilled nodoguro, and some miso soup.”

“I’ll get started on the rice then.”

Kiyoomi scoops four cups of rice into the rice cooker and pours water on top. He swirls it around with his hand until the water becomes cloudy and then drains the rice water into the sink.

Atsumu’s eyebrows furrow, confused. “Wait, why are you pouring away the rice water?”

“Because that’s what I normally do?” 

“But you can wash your face and hair with it.” 

“Just grill the fish already.” Kiyoomi hands him a knife.

Atsumu starts to preheat the grill and pours water into the bottom. While he waits for the grill to heat up, he washes the fish in the sink, then when he deems it clean enough, he starts to descale it with the blade of the knife. Then he slit the nodoguro down the midline of its body and cleaned out the innards. He slices two deep cuts on both sides of the fish and liberally salts them. Once the grill is preheated, he lowers the nodoguro onto the rack and waits for it to cook. 

Kiyoomi felt a bit unnerved cooking with a kitsune and pretending that it was normal. If anything, he should be more nervous than he should be. Kitsunes are a type of yokai, which are supernatural monsters and spirits. Known for their mischievousness and maliciousness. The man in front of him was definitely an enigma. But he surprisingly felt calm around him as he prepared the tamagoyaki. The movements came to him automatically and soon enough, they had plates filled with steaming hot food. 

“Thanks for the food.” They said in unison.

Kiyoomi tucks into his breakfast and takes a bite of the tamagoyaki, which was sweet and savoury and paired well with the soft and buttery nodoguro. Even though the fish was only salted and had no other seasonings, it tasted heavenly. Kiyoomi turns on the TV onto the news channel so they wouldn’t have to eat their food in silence.

“This tamagoyaki is really good Omi-kun.” Atsumu shovels some rice into his mouth.

Mildly deterred by his lack of table manners, Kiyoomi pointedly ignores his actions. “Thank you.”

“My ma always made her tamagoyaki _super salty_ and every time I asked for a sweet one she always made ‘em salty in the end. This one is just perfect.” He placed a slice in his mouth and moans. “Gosh is this what heaven—” 

“BREAKING NEWS. Today is January 16th and a thirty-year-old man in the Kanagawa prefecture has been confirmed positive for COVID-19.” The TV alerts them.

“Kanagawa prefecture? Isn’t that on the east end?” Atsumu asks.

“I believe so. At least we aren’t close to it. We should still stay careful though.” Kiyoomi finishes the rest of his food and stacks his plates. “You shouldn’t do anything strenuous today, so I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

Once Atsumu finishes the rest of his food, they gather their plates and Kiyoomi washes them in the sink, not trusting Atsumu to do a good enough job of removing all of the residue. Atsumu has a kitchen towel in one hand and is drying the dishes and placing them in their respective cupboards, albeit a little slower than Kiyoomi normally would have.  
Then Kiyoomi leads Atsumu down the long narrow hallway with Maron-kun trailing behind them. The house was dark and gloomy and barely had any light, except for the sunlight that shone through the shoji. Since it was an old house, there was barely any heating or air conditioning and Atsumu shivered as they passed by multiple empty rooms. At the end of the hallway, there was a small wooden staircase that led them to the second floor. The floorboards creaked with each step they took, and Atsumu felt like the whole thing was going to break down if he took a wrong step. Kiyoomi enters the first door on the right and gestures for him to wait outside. After a couple of minutes, Kiyoomi comes back with a small stack of clothes and a towel. 

“I have some of my old clothes with me. They should fit you, Miya-san.” Kiyoomi turned around and opened the shoji door opposite of his room. “You can stay in the guest room for now and there’s a futon in the closet.”

“Thanks Omi-kun.” Atsumu smiles warmly. 

Kiyoomi watches as the morning light shone through the shoji, diffusing light into the tiny guest room and illuminating Atsumu’s face. As the sunlight brightens his golden hair, he felt something deep inside him that wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable. He shakes the unfamiliar feeling off and moves towards the door. 

“You should just rest for now. I’ll show you what you have to do tomorrow.”

Atsumu sniffs the clothes Kiyoomi gave him and smiles, he could smell the laundry detergent and hints of citrus, which calmed his heart. He sets aside the clothes Kiyoomi gave him into the closet and pulls out the folded futon. He spreads it out on the floor and lays down on the futon, staring at the ceiling. Atsumu replays the day’s events in his head as Maron crawls under the blanket and rests his head on his thigh. His eyes grew heavy and he felt a warmth come over him as he fell asleep.

_Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all._

* * *

Kiyoomi steps out of the guest room and quietly closes the door. He leans against it and takes a huge breath. He felt the cold air spread across his chest and he shivers slightly at the uncomfortable feeling. As he walks to his room, he contemplates his choices, which were — to be frank — utterly questionable. 

_Even though he was injured, who the hell invites some random fucking kitsune to stay in their grandparent's house? Oh wait that’s me._

Kiyoomi couldn’t keep his mind off of him and the feeling that something bad was bound to happen. He shakes off the thought nagging at his brain and decides that at least pretending to do work would be a better use of his time than thinking about the kitsune sleeping down the hall from him. He browses through thousands of journal articles on insulin, absentmindedly skimming through each of the papers, the contents of which had flown through one ear and out the other. He copies the links to the articles and pastes them into a file for later reading. All he wanted to do was to bang his head against his desk and let out his frustration due to his inability to focus. But instead, he just sighs and pulls off his reading glasses and rubs his eyes. He tilts his head back and groans.

_Maybe I should just drop out. Live a simple life on a farm in a small rural town and grow rice. Yeah, that sounds about right._

Kiyoomi could hear faint steps growing louder and a knock at his door. 

“Come in.”

“Omi-Omi aren’t ya hungry? It’s already past noon.” Atsumu sticks in his head into the doorway. “I also made curry.”

Kiyoomi rolls his eyes at the nickname. “I’ll be downstairs in a couple of minutes.” 

Atsumu slowly creeps up behind him and takes a peek at his monitor.

“Hmmmm what are you watching Omi-Omi? _Porn_?” 

“I’m doing research. _Not_ porn.”

“I dunno man, glycogen seems pretty fuckin’ sexy if ya think about it.”

“Just wait downstairs for me.” Kiyoomi presses his fingers into his temple. “Play with Maron-kun or something. Just stop bothering me.”

“You’re so mean Omi-Omi.”

“ _Out._ ”

Atsumu sulks and stomps downstairs to the kitchen where Maron runs up to him and rubs his body onto Atsumu’s leg. He sits down on the tatami and grabs one of his squeaky toys.

“Man, why is he so prickly Maron-kun?” Atsumu fakes throwing the squeaky toy and Maron runs to go get it. But by the time he realizes the toy wasn’t there, he sprints full-speed ahead to Atsumu and tries to wrestle the toy out of his hands. But before he knew it, the squeaky toy tears along the seams and stuffing lands on the floor and unfortunately on top of the food. And unbeknownst to him, Kiyoomi had just decided to walk in and witness the disaster unfold before his eyes.

“What the hell Miya. At least clean up after yourself.” Kiyoomi closes his eyes and massages his temple. Atsumu could tell from five feet away that he was fuming silently.

“It wasn’t me I swear ta god! It was Maron-kun!” Atsumu raises his hands innocently.

“Just clean it up so we can eat for fucks sake.”

* * *

By the next day, most of Atsumu’s wounds had begun to heal and it started to look much better than it did yesterday. The skin around his wound was still pink and highly sensitive and it wasn’t infected, which was a small blessing. The gash from his shoulder to his hip had a new layer of scar tissue forming and it hurt less to move his body around. He still had limited mobility of his torso though, but overall, he felt like a new man. When Kiyoomi had inspected his injuries, he was mildly astonished and gently applied more of the ointment on top of the scar tissue.

“I guess fast healing is a part of being a kitsune.” Kiyoomi says as he places new bandages on his skin. “I won’t make you do anything too hard today, Miya. But — ”

“Hmmm I thought ya would Omi-Omi.” Atsumu teases him.

“Do I come across as _that_ insensitive to you Miya?”

“Most of the time yeah you do.” 

“Just cook and clean up after meals for now. Later, when your wound heals, you’ll be assisting me in clearing out my grandparent’s stuff. Got it?”

“Yeah yeah yeah I got it.” Atsumu rolled his eyes.

“I’ll be in my room doing some research. Don’t bother me unless it’s important. See you at lunch.” Kiyoomi stands up and walks towards the door. “And don’t forget to play with Maron-kun.”

With that, Atsumu starts to take a closer look at the fridge to see if there was anything worth eating. Most of the stuff in the fridge was salad greens and Atsumu loathed salads. Kiyoomi ate salads as much as he possibly could. He rarely ever ate anything that was unhealthy and if it was, it was a rare treat for himself. 

Atsumu digs through the freezer if he could find anything else other than vegetables and a package of frozen chicken thighs caught his eye. He pours a gallon of oil in a tall pot and heated it up on medium-low on the gas stove. Atsumu defrosted the chicken in a bowl of warm water and gathered the rest of his ingredients from the cupboards. He cracks an egg into a bowl and beats it with minced garlic until it was homogenous. Atsumu let the chicken marinate in the egg mixture while he moves on to making the sweet vinegar sauce, which was made of soy sauce, vinegar and apple black vinegar. He dips his spoon into the sauce to taste it and holds the spoon down for Maron’s nose to sniff.

“Does it smell good Maron-kun? I hope he likes it.”

Atsumu pours the potato starch into another bowl and swirls it around before deciding to add salt and pepper, which he had _almost_ forgotten. He dredges the chicken in the starch and dips a tiny corner of the chicken into the hot oil, which has finally come up to the right temperature. One by one, he lowers the chicken thighs into the oil with his cooking chopsticks and flips them as soon as one of the sides becomes golden brown. He could smell the scent of oil permeate through the air, which sometimes made him feel nauseous, but he was craving fried foods today. Once the chicken was fully cooked, he plates up each dish with two chicken thighs, some salad, and pours over the sauce on top.

“Maron-kun can you go get Omi-Omi and tell him it’s time for lunch?” Atsumu pats his head. “I promise I’ll have something for you when you get back.”

Maron trots away into the hallway and Atsumu starts to wrap a sweet potato in a damp paper towel. He places the potato in the microwave for two minutes and flips it halfway. Once it was fully cooked, he started to peel the hot potato, which was a nightmare. Atsumu lacked the thick skin needed to accomplish such a daunting task.

“Ack FUCK it’s so HOT!” Atsumu passes the sweet potato between his two hands before he could finally handle it without burning himself. 

He places the peeled potato in Maron’s food bowl and waits at the dining table for Kiyoomi and Maron. Kiyoomi finally enters the room and Atsumu could see the dark circles under his eyes and how he slumps in his chair.

“Thanks for the meal.” 

Kiyoomi was _exhausted_. He had just spent the whole morning responding to emails from faculty, colleagues, and his parents, which was mentally and emotionally draining, to say the least. He could barely even pick up his chopsticks and had difficulties picking up the fried chicken. But once he took a bite, he was surprised at the flavours that melded into his mouth. The sweet vinegar sauce cuts through the juicy chicken thighs, which wasn’t greasy at all. It was super moreish and he couldn’t help himself from taking more and more bites until he was stuffed. Atsumu could feel a small smile spreading on his face as he watched Kiyoomi stuff his face with the fried chicken. Even Maron was devouring the sweet potato at lightning speed.

“What are ya doing in Hyogo in the first place?” Atsumu said with a mouthful of food. “It ain’t the prettiest here. It’s just a buncha farmland.”

“I’m just clearing out my grandparent’s old house.” Kiyoomi replied.

“Man you haven’t really done much. Like, there’s so much stuff in here.”

“Oh shut up, I’ve only been here for a week.” He grunts. “It was a shithole when I first came here.”

“It still does look like one though.” Atsumu nags. “Hey HEY put the spoon down!”

“So what can you do as a kitsune?” Kiyoomi asks as he stacks his plates. He wasn’t one for small talk, but he figures he should know him a little better. 

“Hmmm I’m still pretty young so I can’t really do much. But I can do this.” Before he could blink, Atsumu had morphed into two fluffy red ears and a tail to boot. 

“So you don’t actually have any supernatural abilities?” He rests his head on his hand and tilts his head.

“Usually the more tails a kitsune has, indicates they are an older and more powerful kitsune.” He announces matter-of-factly.

“So you’re saying you’re dumb.”

“Nooooooo Omi-Omi I’m just younger than everyone else.” Atsumu whines. “I’ll get my second tail soon.”

Kiyoomi straightens his posture and inquires. “Everyone else?”

“Yeah, my family and friends.” Atsumu already knew what Kiyoomi was going to say next.

“You should get back to your family soon.” Kiyoomi said. “They’re probably very worried.”

“Noooooo Omi-Omi I like living with you and Maron-kun. Please let me stay longer.” Atsumu moves to desperately clutch his arm, to which Kiyoomi jerks away from.

“No. Go home.” Kiyoomi’s voice was stern.

Atsumu pouted and his eyes sparkled. His eyes were brimming with tears and trails ran down his face.

“Are you seriously crying on command?” Kiyoomi is flabbergasted at the range of emotions that ran through Atsumu’s face in under five minutes.

“Did it work though?” Atsumu wiped the tears off of his face.

Kiyoomi huffed. “No.”

“But like there’s so much stuff here! You can’t move all of it out yourself.” Atsumu whines. “Ya need a strong kitsune like me to help you out.” He winks flirtatiously.

“You’re incorrigible.”

“But I know ya like me Omi-Omi.” Atsumu coos. “Just say that ya like me.”

“Do you ever shut up Miya?”

“I dunno, why dontcha come and find out” Atsumu leans in and smirks. 

“Why don't you make me?” Kiyoomi leans in even closer and glowers at him.

And thus begins Kiyoomi’s life in a shitty house with a shitty kitsune.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahahahaha so i made some edits to the previous two chapters, which weren't big, I just had to change the verb tenses because they were all in past tense so I had to make them in the present tense. also it's my last week of actual lectures this week and then I have three weeks of finals,, which is funnnn very fun. I'm still trying to figure out how to write out the middle part of the story since the ending is already written up n ready. also the tags are going to be updated w each chapter! so,, some things are gonna be,, interesting,, and i hope y’all like it
> 
> anyways see yall next update in like a week or so! follow me on twt @kyuuwah


	4. the rules: 1-3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kiyoomi decides on a list of basic roommate rules and here's how atsumu violates rules #1-3

Kiyoomi feels like he’s about to go absolutely feral. He regrets  _ every _ single decision of his life that led him to his current situation. If he could leave the country, he would have done so already and completely forget about moving out all of the stuff from the house. Unfortunately for him, the whole country is in lockdown and  _ he can’t leave _ . Now he’s stuck with a kitsune with no common sense and a dog that enables his behaviour.

_ Atsumu Miya is a wild fucking animal and Kiyoomi absolutely regrets letting him in. _

* * *

Kiyoomi is pacing back and forth, scribbling furiously on a scrap piece of paper while Atsumu and Maron sit patiently and watch. He reflects back on the past roommates he’s had before and he knows what works and what doesn’t. Unfortunately for him, he has had his fair share of shitty roommates and he will not hesitate to call Atsumu out on his bullshit.

“Okay, we need to set some ground rules.” He hands Atsumu the piece of paper.

HOUSE RULES

  1. Do not enter each other’s rooms without express consent.
  2. Clean up after yourself.
  3. Don't make any unnecessary noise. Especially at night.
  4. Equitable division of labour.
  5. Both parties are to clean out storage together.
  6. If it doesn’t concern you, don’t mess with it.
  7. No falling in love.



Atsumu briefly glances at the paper before his eyes boggle at the sheer amount. Number six makes sense given their current situation and the other five is just common roommate courtesy. Well, after having a brother for twenty-seven years, he never really followed any of these rules. After scanning the first six, his eyes are drawn to number 7 immediately. 

Atsumu’s eyebrows furrow and he squints at the paper. “I can get 1 to 6 but what the heck is up with number 7?”

“Falling in love is messy and I’ve had my fair share of roommates who have violated this rule,” Kiyoomi says, twiddling his thumbs. “Just don’t be one of them.”

“Got it got it.” Atsumu has only ever fallen in love with a person once, and it was with his high school volleyball team captain. Which unfortunately ended in an ambiguous answer from Kita-san and Atsumu just ended up forgetting about it and getting over it. It’s been ten years anyway. So falling in love with Kiyoomi is definitely out of the question. Practically impossible for Atsumu. 

“Do you have anything to add? It is a working document so we can make adjustments as necessary.” Kiyoomi hands him the ballpoint pen.

Atsumu thinks for a second and comes up with nothing. “Nope! It sounds good.”

“Then sign here.” Kiyoomi points at the little line at the bottom.

We fully understand and accept the rules and responsibilities of this agreement.

Sakusa Kiyoomi & Miya Atsumu

**And here’s how Atsumu violates every single one of them.**

RULE #1: Do not enter each other’s rooms without express consent.

Kiyoomi is  _ exhausted _ (as always) and has just finished pulling an all nighter. Inspiration struck him and he spent endless hours reading journals and typing furiously at his computer. Also, he had to reply to emails, which was difficult given the huge time difference from North America and East Asia. The sun starts to rise and he realizes that he was awake from dusk to dawn. He shuts off his computer and clears off the dust from his laptop. He unfolds his futon and tucks himself into bed, his duvet to his shoulders, and he puts on a sleeping mask and his earplugs. Then his bedroom door opens and slams into the wooden frame. Kiyoomi jolts and falls off of his futon onto the tatami and rips off his sleeping mask to reveal Atsumu charging headfirst into him.

“OMI-OMI SAVE ME!” Atsumu tackles Kiyoomi in his futon with a toy fox in his hand and Kiyoomi completely freezes. A couple of seconds after him, Maron jumps on Kiyoomi’s stomach and he keels over in pain as Maron and Atsumu play tug of war with the beaten-up toy fox. 

They completely make a mess out of his room. Clean clothes and dirty clothes flying everywhere where they shouldn’t be. Atsumu knocks over some of the office supplies on his desk, which includes Kiyoomi’s only pair of reading glasses. Kiyoomi gapes as his pristine room is immediately messed up in the span of less than five minutes. 

Kiyoomi grasps for his reading glasses, which are split straight down the middle and has hairline fractures on each of the lenses. He attempts to see out of them, but the cracks obstruct his vision. 

“O-oh, uhhh,” Atsumu stammers as he frantically reaches for some tape. “We can easily just tape that up. See? Much better.” He hands Kiyoomi his taped glasses back together, which immediately begin to cave into the bridge again.

Kiyoomi takes a deep breath in and exhales before pointing his index finger at the door, gesturing for them to get out. Atsumu and Maron scramble out of the room, knocking over Kiyoomi’s half-empty RedBull on the tatami.

_ This is going to be a pain to clean up. _

After that day, Kiyoomi bought a padlock from the local convenience store and placed it on his door to prevent Atsumu from entering ever again.

* * *

RULE #2 : Clean up after yourself.

Atsumu has just finished marinating some beef for dinner that night and he decides to play with Maron in the backyard. It was almost the end of January, but the snow layer was still thick and it was perfect packing snow consistency for throwing snowballs. He puts on Kiyoomi’s snow boots, which surprisingly fit him well, albeit just a bit too big for him. He could feel a gap between his toes and where they were supposed to be, which didn’t bother him too much and didn’t hinder his gait.

He steps out of the genkan onto the stone pathway to the garden and bends down to form a couple of snowballs. He could sense that Maron is super excited to play outside in the snow from his wagging tail. Then when they reach the garden, he gets the zoomies and is threading in between the rocks and the icicled cherry trees at lightning speed.

At one point, Maron was going so fast that he barrels right into Atsumu’s legs and Atsumu’s knees buckle at the impact. He hits his head on his little snowball mountain and is completely knocked out.

While he’s trying to regain some sort of composure, Atsumu could hear the angry stomping becoming louder and he groans. He knows Kiyoomi is pissed and he can’t stand to hear his daily lecture from him. Maron pricks up his ears at the sound of his owner and patiently waits for him to arrive.

The sliding door slams open, revealing an angry Kiyoomi in a robe. “HEY DIPSHIT!”

“Whatttttt isss ittt,” Atsumu groans, “I’m kinda busy being knocked out.”

“FUCKING FLUSH THE TOILET AFTER YOUVE TAKEN A SHIT!” Kiyoomi yells. “CONTRARY TO YOUR BELIEF THIS PLACE ISN’T A PIGSTY SO FLUSH IT!”

Maron snorts happily at Kiyoomi’s arrival and takes a cheerful rush at him before planting his wet paws on his robe. Kiyoomi squats down to playfully ruffle Maron’s fur before he stomps back into the house, with Maron trailing behind.

“Gosh this guy is seriously off his rocker.” Atsumu scrunches up his face and then releases, trying to calm himself.

* * *

After eating dinner with Kiyoomi, Atsumu immediately heads to the bathroom and strips off his clothes, which are soaked in sweat after playing tug-of-war with Maron. He places the plug into the drain and fills the tub with steaming hot water as he rinses off in shower beside it. He scrubs his body until it’s pink with an abrasive green washcloth that Kiyoomi gave him after taking one look at his skin. All of the dirt and the dead skin falls off his body and his skin feels super smooth and soft. 

Once he finishes rinsing himself off in the shower, he hops into the tub and his body immediately relaxes in the water. He slides open the bathroom window to the garden and lays his head against the windowsill as he stares at the flurries falling down. The cherry trees that he used to steal from in the summertime were covered in thick layers of snow and had sharp icicles on each of its branches. He could see the wooden storm shutters protecting the shoji’s translucent white paper from the snowfall. Atsumu is so entranced by the scene in front of him that he doesn't even notice when Kiyoomi barges in the bathroom. 

Atsumu’s heart skips a beat at the sound of Kiyoomi marching into the bathroom. He immediately sinks into the tub until his head is visible above the water to maintain some sort of modesty. “WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PRIVACY RULE OMI-OMI?”

“Oh shut it, I already saw everything.” Kiyoomi takes a deep breath. “You didn't take out the trash! The trash bin is over-fucking-flowing and you're just going to leave it like that?”

“I’ll take it out after my bath Omi-Omiiiii” Atsumu whines. “Let me bathe in peace.”

Kiyoomi aggressively points at him and stalks out of the room. “You better take it out.” 

Atsumu sinks his head down into the hot water and blows bubbles out of his nose in frustration. 

* * *

DAY 3: Don't make any unnecessary noise. Especially at night.

For dinner that night, Atsumu decides to cook sukiyaki for dinner, which is best eaten on cold nights like today. He gathers shiitake mushrooms, carrots, green onions, cabbage, tofu, konjac, and some beef and turns on the radio. Atsumu rinses off his vegetables under the tap, then he thinly slices the mushrooms, cabbages, and carrots and sets them aside for later. He then chops the green onion into even chunks and fries them in a pan as he prepares the sauce. He pours mirin, sake, soy sauce, and sugar into the small saucepan and brings it to a boil to cook out the alcohol. Then once everything is prepared, he brings out Kiyoomi’s grandparent’s earthenware pot and sets it on the portable gas stove on top of the kotatsu. 

He pours the sauce into the pot and sets all of the vegetables, konjac, and tofu inside and covers it with the lid. As he waits for the vegetables to cook, he hones his knife and thinly slices the beef for the sukiyaki. His ears prick up at the familiar sound coming from and radio and he immediately puts down his knife to jam out. He’s dancing with Maron and making the worst dance moves ever known to history. Then once the chorus comes, he just can’t help himself.

“近づきたいよ MY DESTINYYYYYYYY OH OH OHHHHHHHHH” Atsumu is holding a wooden spoon in one hand and waving the other wildly in the air.

“もうトキメキ止まらないずっと — ” Then the music suddenly stops. He could hear a pin drop.

“Miya.” Atsumu freezes at his tone and drops his wooden spoon on the kitchen floor.

“I’m currently having a meeting upstairs. Please be  _ quiet _ .” 

“Oh okay.” Dejected, Atsumu slumps over and lowers the volume and quietly jams out to Marina Saito. “Omi-Omi is a party pooper huh Maron-kun?”

* * *

**It’s not like there haven't been troubles on Kiyoomi’s end…**

DAY 1: Kiyoomi and the Japanese language.

Atsumu knocks on Kiyoomi’s bedroom door and waits outside with Maron. Kiyoomi grabs the keys on his desk and unlocks each of his padlocks. As he slides the door open, he can see Atsumu’s eyes brighten and Maron sits up and wags his tail at the sight of his owner. He’s decked out in one of Kiyoomi’s puffy winter jackets, which was a little too big on the shorter man. But Kiyoomi thought he looked good nonetheless.

“Omi-Omi, we’re running out of fooooood. We should go to the supermarket.”

“Alright, give me five minutes.” 

Kiyoomi quickly shuts off his computer and grabs his trenchcoat and his reusable bags from the closet. As they put on their shoes and walk out the door, Kiyoomi bends down and pats Maron. 

“Sorry Maron-kun, you can’t come with us to the supermarket.” Kiyoomi says. “I’ll get you some treats though.”  
They hop into the old sedan and wait for the painfully long ride to the nearest supermarket to be over. Unfortunately for the both of them, there is no scenic view outside the frosted windows, unless acres of farmland and the occasional house counts. Atsumu leans his head out the window and falls asleep to the sound of Kiyoomi humming a familiar song. He slowly regains consciousness as they pull into the parking lot and Kiyoomi hands Atsumu a mask and a pair of gloves and the reusable bags. 

They grab some food for the next week and quickly rush out of the store, trying to avoid other people as much as possible. On the way home, Kiyoomi takes a couple of different turns from the normal route since Atsumu wanted to go look at the nearby stores. As Atsumu is staring out the window, he spots the flashing lights of the nearby convenience store that he used to pass by on the way home from school.

“Oh OH OMI!!! Can we stop by the convenience store? I want some nikuman!”

“What the hell is a nikuman?”

“You’ve never had them before? They’re so good though.”

Kiyoomi pulls up in front of the convenience store and sanitizes his hands vigorously. They walk into 7-11 and Atsumu brings him to a clear display case near the counter that is filled with steaming hot buns. Kiyoomi furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

“Bao?”

“ _ Nikuman _ . They're called nikuman.”

“Aren’t they called bao?” Kiyoomi tries to wrack his brain if there was another word for it, but all he ever knew was that it was called  _ bao _ .

Atsumu shrugs. “Well, they're called nikuman here.” 

The cashier walks up to them. “Hi can I get two of these, two pizza ones, oh and is that… pudding flavoured?”

“Pudding flavoured steamed buns?” Kiyoomi retches in his mouth. “That sounds volatile.”

“Let's try it!” Atsumu loves pudding, but the best ones are often stolen from little brothers. Atsumu drops a few coins into the tray and skips back to the car. He sits in the passenger seat and hands Kiyoomi a steaming hot nikuman. Kiyoomi feels his hands warm up immediately and takes a small bite. The bun was soft and pillowy and the meat inside was juicy and flavourful. He could feel the warmth travel straight to his stomach, and it was very comforting on a cold wintery day.

“How is it?” Atsumu stuffs the rest of his nikuman into his mouth and throws away the wrapper.   
“It tastes like every other bao I’ve had in Canada.” Kiyoomi shrugs. “It’s good though.”

“How about this one?” He hands him the pizza bun, which is one of Atsumu’s personal favourites.

“It's just like a pizza pop, but the outside layer is a steamed bun.” Atsumu pouts at Kiyoomi’s indifference.

“Let's try the pudding one!”

They both put it in their mouths and as soon as they swallow the first bite, Kiyoomi gags and spits out his bite into a bag. Atsumu happily carries on devouring the rest of his bun. 

“Wow, I've never had that before!”

“That’s  _ disgusting _ , what the fuck did you just give me?”

“You don’t like it?”

“It tastes cloyingly sweet. And it’s weirdly gummy too?” Kiyoomi’s forehead wrinkles. He can’t get the aftertaste out of his mouth and reaches for the pizza bun to wash out any lingering flavours.

“Then gimme yers Omi-Omi I can’t let this pudding bun go to waste.” 

* * *

DAY 2: Kiyoomi and the Japanese Language 

Atsumu catches Kiyoomi right before he is about to head into his bedroom. He didn’t really know what to make for dinner that night since the leftover nikuman from the 7-11 trip satisfied his cravings.

“Omi-Omi, do you want anything for dinner?”

Kiyoomi thinks about the food that they bought yesterday at the supermarket and he feels a little homesick. “We have ground beef, right? How about hamburgers?”

Even though Kiyoomi rarely ate hamburgers back at home, he sorely craved them ever since he arrived in Japan. He always ate them with a knife and fork unlike the general population — he hates handheld food, but hamburgers and baos were the exceptions.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” 

“I have a meeting in a couple of minutes so I’ll leave it to you, Miya.” Kiyoomi gently closes his bedroom door as Atsumu heads right into the kitchen. 

He grabs the ground beef and eggs from the fridge and panko from the cupboards. He mixes them with Worcester sauce in a big bowl and forms them into little patties. Then he mixes ketchup and Worcester sauce in a separate bowl for the sauce as he waits for the oil to heat up. He fries two patties for each of them and once they are fully cooked, he places them on their plates and tops them off with the sauce. He sets a bowl of rice for each of them and asks Maron to call his owner over for dinner. Maron had already eaten dinner before them and is ready to beg for scraps once they finished theirs. As Kiyoomi steps into the room, he glances at the table, which didn’t really have what he had in mind for dinner.

Kiyoomi’s eyebrows furrow in confusion as he sits down at the table. “I thought I said hamburger.”

Atsumu cocks his head to the side. “But you said hambagu Omi-Omi.”

He reaches for Kiyoomi’s phone and searches up  _ hambaga _ and  _ hambagu  _ on his phone and shows him the pictures. The photos of hambaga are what Kiyoomi thought he asked for, but the hambagu photos match the food on their plates. Kiyoomi mentally slaps his forehead at his mistake and wishes his lips could fall off.

“Hambaga…” Kiyoomi trails off.

“You said hambagu…” Atsumu could feel the edges of his mouth pull into a teasing smile.

Kiyoomi shrugs. “Let’s just eat it…” 

“Man Omi-Omi, I thought yer Japanese was like super perfect for someone who grew up outside of Japan. Can't believe you made such a simple mistake like that.” Atsumu chuckles as he cuts up his hambagu into small pieces.

Kiyoomi glares at him. “I haven't lived here since I was five, give me a break.”

He begrudgingly adds. “The hambagu is good though.”

Atsumu smiles. “Glad ya think so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since it's finals season, i decided to go for an earlier update since I have back to back exams on friday and saturday. anyways enjoy the update and ill be back next week with another one! 
> 
> also I didn't realize that this story was going to become so long asdfjdhs my google docs for this story is a HEFTY BOYO
> 
> follow me on twitter @kyuuwah if ya want!


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